Meet expresses concern on challenges before civil society

Civil society warn against hijacking house

Living in times of national disorder: Sidharth Mishra

The past few weeks have been bad for at least three former chiefs of staff of the armed services – Army, Navy and Air Force. In the case of the first, former chief of Indian Army General VK Singh ended up blaming the media for an embarrassment he caused to the government. In the second case, a former chief of the Indian Navy, Admiral L Ramdas was unceremoniously booted out as the internal Lokpal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Finally, it is only a matter of time before Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi is taken into custody for his alleged role in a defence scam.

While SP Tyagi’s case is related to corruption, both VK Singh and L Ramdas have managed to heap ignominy upon themselves thanks to their political ambitions. General VK Singh’s term as the chief of army staff was riddled with controversy. During Singh’s tumultuous tenure he had a running battle with the previous government and his agenda was not exactly for the good of the soldier. Singh’s personal ambitions and preferences got the better of his demeanour and duties as army chief. This ambition, some would argue, was reflected in the personal vendetta he showed towards his peers and colleagues.

That VK Singh had political ambitions became very clear when he joined the India Against Corruption ‘tamasha’,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team of floor managers in both the Houses must have gone for recess in the on-going Budget session of Parliament with a certain sense of satisfaction. The Parliament was adjourned on March 20, for a month, due to the stipulated mid-session recess; it will be reconvened again on April 21. Those who believe in parliamentary democracy must have noted with contentment that both the Houses; despite the Opposition’s repeated attempts to create a logjam even on feeble grounds, worked to the capacity.
According to the data released by PRS, a research body working in the field of legislative activity, the current Lok Sabha session recorded a whopping productivity of

Tucked away in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas is Dehradun, which was once an abode of retired Brown Sahibs and the home of leading boarding schools in the country. It has been 15 years since the state of Uttarakhand was created and these years have been sufficient to turn the quiet town into a bustling state capital. While those retiring from armed forces and other government services may no longer be moving into the Doon (the valley) of Dehra, the famous boarding schools have somewhat still managed to retain their aura.

Dehradun town was once neatly divided into two halves by the Bindal River. The west side was exclusive to the cantonment and the forest department; and towards the east were the civil area and the bazaars. Today Bindal River has vanished with Bangladeshi immigrants having encroached upon its dried up bed, though the age old bridge still exists. Within the cantonment there are two huge estates -- the Chandbagh and Rajwara measuring 69 and 139 acres respectively.

On these estates were built two eminent institutions – the Doon School (Chandbagh) and the Prince of Wales’ Royal Indian Military College (RIMC-Rajwara).

Ever since Anna Hazare plonked himself at Jantar Mantar in April 2011 to launch the anti-corruption agitation, I had no doubt that the whole movement was playing with the implicit aim of garnering TRP ratings and its spectacle was promptly lapped up by the media. If hectoring anchors have ensured that a rape accused was lynched in Nagaland, their preachy avatars have also played a part in the Aam Aadmi Party’s ascension to Delhi’s high offices.

With intellectuals-turned-media personalities-taking on the responsibility of playing ideologue of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the media’s role has understandably become one of paramount importance. Media as a campaign propellant for any political party is most welcome. When in government, however, the party in power cannot see the media’s role to be any other than one of intrusion.

To Vinod Mehta’s credit, who passed away on 8 March 2015, without having worked in any of the behemoths of Indian print media, he commanded a stature, which not many of his contemporary editors from these publications do. He was no great intellectual, but still made effective intrusions in political dynamics with pithy expressions.

He could achieve all this because he was an effective editor and more important he got well-meaning wealthy people Ashwin Shah, Vijaypat Singhania, Lalit Mohan Thapar and

It seldom happens that one gets a chance to write a sequel to the Notebook. The reports last week about mediapersons seeking benefits from corporate houses led to the resignation of two senior journalists named in the purported Public Interest Litigation and nothing more. Before I come around to discuss why I am so dismissive of the issue, let me share with you some anecdotes as I did last week.

About a decade, or may be a few years more, ago we had run a copy on the pending bankruptcy case in a foreign land of an upcoming business house in the education sector. This had brought instant

In the ongoing cricket season, with finance minister Arun Jaitley himself being a cricket enthusiast, the best cricketing euphemism to describe his full Budget speech would be that the Narendra Modi government was still playing the opening overs.While the robust economic survey released on Friday raised expectations of a Budget which would usher second generation reforms, the annual financial statement presented a day later fell a little short.

At the end of his 95-minutes-long address, the minister said, “People who urge us to undertake Big Bang Reforms, also say that the Indian economy is a giant super tanker, or an elephant. An elephant, moves slowly but surely.” Though short on big bang reforms,

Railways minister Suresh Prabhu enjoys formidable reputation as a chartered accountant. The annual financial statement of the Indian Railways presented by him on 26 February 2015can be best summarised as a chartered accountant’s budget.Prabhu has proposed to reduce expenditure, maximise revenues to save 11.5 paise per rupee it earns in the coming year. This means that he proposes to bring the operating ratio down to 88.5% from the present 91.8%, which is quite a daunting task.

In drawing a “balance-sheet” like Budget, he has, however, been careful to not lose sight of popular sentiments and proposes to transfer the benefits of every paisa saved to passengers. Prabhu did not announce any hike in the passenger tariff, wooing the common man but sent markets into a tailspin by

Books Review

Gateway to CRDJ

Centre for Reforms, Development and Justice (CRD&J) is a body of academics, journalists, intellectuals and social workers registered under the Societies Act. It is based in Delhi.

The avowed aim of the CRD&J is to create public awareness and opinion on the matters confronting the Indian society. In an era when policy making has entered public domain, it is important that articulation of opinion should be based on inputs from the cross-section of society.

CRD&J through its initiatives makes an attempt to consolidate the intellectual capital of the nation and put it in proper perspective without an ideological bias. It believes in liberal debate, assimilation of ideas, analysis of input and free dissemination of information.

The Centre encapsulates the vision of its president Sidharth Mishra, a senior journalist, author and academician. He brings with him a rich experience of exposure to the media and the academic world. He is ably assisted by the honorary secretary of the Centre, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari, who teaches political science at Delhi University.